GRADUATE RESEARCH IN BIOANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY

At Kansas, our approach to graduate education appeals to students with goalsthat range from teaching at colleges anduniversities to careers in government labs or industry. Our students can look forward to personal development in an atmospherethat emphasizes progress from collaborationand mentorship with an adviser to independent scholarship. If this program fits your needs and plans for the future,we invite you to join us.

The Adams Institutewww.adamsinstitute.ku.eduGraduate students at KU may pursuetheir degrees in a number of departments,including Chemistry, PharmaceuticalChemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, and theSchool of Engineering. Analytical studentsin these departments are affiliated with theRalph N. Adams Institute for BioanalyticalChemistry.The Adams Institute is an international and interdisciplinary group ofresearchers focused on the developmentof new instrumentation and methodologiesthat can be employed by life scientists toimprove understanding of the mechanismsof diseases including cancer, cardiovasculardisease and neurological disorders.TheInstitute continues the legacy of BuzzAdams, who believed that scientists havean obligation to pursue scientific research that will benefit humanity usingthe best tools available.

Bioanalytical chemistry already plays a significant role in the pharmaceuticalindustry in drug discovery and develop-ment. It is also the key discipline involvedin the development of new clinical diagnostic tests, environmental monitoring

of pollutants, and forensics.The facultyand students of the Adams Institute arededicated to achieving international leadership in bioanalytical chemistry byfostering the highest quality research andeducation in this important discipline.Faculty members listed in this brochurewelcome invitations to visit undergraduateinstitutions to present research seminarsand discuss opportunities for graduatestudy. Please feel free to contact us atthe address below.

Forward-Looking ResearchProgramsAdams Institute researchers develop and use innovative sampling, separation,detection, and characterization techniquesto promote understanding of fundamentallife processes.The more we know aboutthese processes, the better we are ableto develop new ways to intervene,regulate biological function, and restorehealth. Some areas of current focus include the development of• new proteomic tools for a better

understanding and diagnosis of cancer,AIDS, and Alzheimer’s disease;

• novel methods for high throughputscreening of drugs and other bioactivemolecules;

• new methods to investigate the pharmacokinetics, metabolism, and disposition of drugs that provide better data while also reducing the number of animals needed forthese studies;

• new clinical diagnostic tests based on microfluidics for the detection of disease; and

• new sensors for monitoring the release of neurotransmitters that can be used to improve understandingof neurological disorders, drug addiction, and stroke.

Doctoral DegreeThe Ph.D. degree is awarded through theDepartments of Chemistry, PharmaceuticalChemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, and theSchool of Engineering for mastering aspecialty field in the discipline, learningmethods of chemical investigation, andcompleting a substantial original researchproject.The degree is intended to prepare the research specialist.

Master’s DegreeStudents who want a less extensive graduate program can also obtain a Master of Science (M.S.) degree throughthe Departments of Chemistry,Pharmaceutical Chemistry, MedicinalChemistry, and the School of Engineering.This program, usually completed in twoyears, omits the intensive course concentrations required for the Ph.D.and requires a more modest researchproject and thesis.

AdmissionGraduate students pursuing degrees in bioanalytical chemistry at KU are admitted through the Departments ofChemistry, Pharmaceutical Chemistry,Medicinal Chemistry, and the School ofEngineering. Admitted students may alsoaffiliate with the Ralph N.Adams Institutefor Bioanalytical Chemistry.

To apply for admission to graduatestudies at the University of Kansas, a student must submit a completed KUgraduate application, one transcript of allprevious college or university work,Graduate Record Examination scores,and three recommendations from individuals familiar with the applicant’sacademic background and abilities.See the specific department for more information.

International students must supply an official copy (not student’s copy) of the applicant’s TOEFL scores earnednot more than two years before the semester of admission, and an officialcopy of scores on the academic formatof the International English LanguageTesting System (IELTS) administered by the University of Cambridge ESOLearned not more than two years beforethe semester of admission.The Ralph N.Adams Institute for

Bioanalytical ChemistryThe University of Kansas2030 Becker DriveLawrence, KS 66047-1620U.S.A.Telephone: (785) 864-2342Fax: (785) 864-1916E-mail: adamsinstitute@ku.eduWeb site: www.adamsinstitute.ku.eduOnline graduate application:

www.graduate.ku.eduThe University of Kansas prohibits

discrimination on the basis of race, color,religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry,disability, veteran status, sexual orienta-tion, marital status, and parental status.Me

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FacilitiesResearch facilities at KU offer a range ofmodern instrumentation, and the physicalsciences are served by an extensive research support organization, the Molecular Structures Group (www.msg.ku.edu). Major instruments include sixmass spectrometers with capabilitiessuch as laser desorption (MALDI),high-resolution FT-MS, GC-MS, LC-MS,MS-MS; six NMR spectrometers from800-300MHz; Bruker X-ray diffractometersfor single crystal and powder analytes;and an advanced FT-Raman spectrometer.Other general equipment includes Fourier transform infrared spectropho-tometers, other nuclear magnetic resonance instruments, and automatedspectropolarimeters. Individual researchgroups also have the advanced equipmentnecessary to enhance their research programs.

The new 106,000 square foot Multidisciplinary Research Building is the home of the Adams Institute forBioanalytical Chemistry, including theAdams Microfabrication Facility.This cutting-edge facility provides capabilitiesfor photolithography, plasma etching ofhigh surface ratio elements, glass etching,laser ablation, metal deposition, dielectricmaterial deposition, and microchip characterization.

Specialized research support facilitiesin Malott Hall include an electronicsshop, an instrument design laboratory,a molecular graphics laboratory, a biochemical research services laboratory,a machine shop, and a staffed maintenancefacility.

Faculty Members and Research AreasJane V.Aldrich, Professor, Ph.D.,University of Michigan. Medicinal chemistry: design and synthesis of peptide and peptidomimetic analogues,primarily of opioid peptides, and examination of structure-activity relationships by both conventional and combinatorial chemistry approaches.Exploration of synthetic methodologiesfor the preparation of novel peptide and peptidomimetic analogues.Cindy L. Berrie, Associate Professor,Ph.D., University of California–Berkeley.Physical and analytical chemistry: surfacescience, scanning probe microscopy,nanoscale patterning, biomolecule interactions.Heather R. Desaire, Associate Professor, Ph.D., University of Califor-nia–Berkeley.Analytical chemistry:bioanalytical mass spectrometry,glycoprotein analysis and glycobiology.Robert C. Dunn, Professor, Ph.D.,University of California-San Diego.Analytical chemistry: optical stereoscopy/microscopy, fiber optics, optical sensors,single molecule spectroscopy, modelmembranes, ion channels.Carey K. Johnson, Professor, Ph.D.,Iowa State University. Physical chemistry:time-resolved and single -molecule laserspectroscopy, chemical and biophysicaldynamics probed by ultrafast time-resolved laser spectroscopy,reorientational dynamics in solution.Michael A. Johnson, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., University of Virginia.Analytical chemistry: Microsensor development, electrochemical detectionof neurotransmitters, fluorescence microscopy, neurological disorders,oxidative stress.Jeffrey P. Krise, Associate Professor,Ph.D., University or Kansas. Pharmaceuticalchemistry: Mechanistic analysis of intracellular drug sequestration and trafficking events in mammalian cells.Evaluations include correlating the physiochemical properties of drugs withtheir organelle accumulation capacity.Proteomic approaches and gene silencingtechniques are used to identify and characterize proteins that play a role in these processes.Jennifer S. Laurence, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., Purdue University.Pharmaceutical chemistry:Analysis ofprotein structure and dynamics usingmultidimensional NMR and computationalmethods to elucidate correlations

between catalytic and biological functionand the proteins’ structure and dynamics.Examination of protein-protein, protein-membrane, and protein-ligand interactions using biophysical, biochemical,analytical, and spectroscopic tools.Craig E. Lunte, Professor, Ph.D., PurdueUniversity.Analytical chemistry: Monitoringliving systems, micro-separation techniques,electrochemistry, electrochemical detectionfor liquid chromatography and capillaryelectrophoresis, drug transport, pharma-cokinetics, anticancer drugs.Susan M. Lunte, Ralph Adams Distinguished Professor, Ph.D., PurdueUniversity. Bioanalytical chemistry: Liquidchromatography, capillary electrophoresis,electrochemical and laser-induced fluorescence detection, microdialysissampling, neurochemistry, protein andpeptide analysis, microchip analytical systems and mass spectrometry.Eric J. Munson, Professor, Ph.D.,TexasA&M University. Pharmaceutical chemistry:Characterization of solid pharmaceuticalsusing solid-state NMR spectroscopy,powder X-ray diffraction, and other techniques. Investigation of the structureand reactivity of pharmaceutical agents in polymer matrices.Transformations between crystalline and amorphousforms of pharmaceutical solids. Peptideand protein stability in formulations.Karen J. Nordheden, Professor, Ph.D.,University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.Chemical & Petroleum Engineering:Development of etch processes for wide bandgap semiconductors such as SiC, GaN, and ZnO. Development of microchip analytical systems.Mario Rivera, Professor, Ph.D., Universityof Arizona. Bioanalytical chemistry:NMR spectroscopy, electrochemistry,recombinant DNA methodology andstructural biochemistry aimed at understanding structure-function relationships in heme containing proteinsand at elucidating the mechanism of oxygen activation at heme active centers.Christian Schöneich, Professor andChair, Ph.D.,Technical University Berlin(Germany). Pharmaceutical chemistry:

Reaction mechanisms of free radicals and reactive oxygen species with biomolecules such as lipids, peptides,and proteins. Investigation of the importance of free radical processes inbiochemistry and pathology and possiblepharmaceutical interventions.G. Sitta Sittampalam, Professor,Courtesy Professor of Analytical Chemistry, Ph.D., University of Arizona.Toxicology & Therapeutics: developing innovative tools for quantitative biologyand pharmacology and its applications to High Throughput Screening (HTS) anddrug discovery; the integration of state-of-the-art cell technologies and 3D imagingof engineered tissues to identify and validate drug targets in cancer, metabolicand neurodegenerative diseases.John F. Stobaugh, Professor, Ph.D.,University of Kansas. Pharmaceuticalchemistry: Liquid chromatographic-based trace analysis of drugs, peptides,and proteins in biological samples.Development of fluorogenic and electrogenic derivitization reagents.Thedevelopment of capillary electrophoresisas a micro-analytical technique for biological samples, the resolution of optical isomers, and protein separations.Evaluation of capillary electrochromatog-raphy, including new supports, as a separation technique in pharmaceuticaland biomedical analysis.David D.Weis, Assistant Professor,Ph.D., Indiana University, Bloomington.Analytical Chemistry: the mechanisms by which intrinsically disordered proteinsmediate interactions with their bindingpartners.Amide H/D exchange coupledwith HPLC and time of flight mass spectrometry is used to probe these interactions.George S.Wilson, Higuchi Distinguished Professor of Chemistryand Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Ph.D.,University of Illinois.Analytical chemistry:structural effects of cytochrome electrontransfer, redox biochemistry, implantablebiosensors, flow injection immunochemistry.

Financial SupportEssentially every graduate student receives financial support while pursuinga graduate degree. Undergraduates frommany departments take chemistry courses each semester, and our need for graduate teaching assistants is high.Also, faculty members are active in pursuing research support, which allowstheir students to be paid from grants asresearch assistants. Nearly all graduatestudents whose research focus is bioanalytical chemistry are supported as research assistants.

In addition to T.A. and R.A. support,several types of fellowships and trainee-ships are available. Detailed informationcan be obtained when you apply.Fellowships for summer support areavailable in the affiliated departmentsthrough contributions form various endowment and industrial sources.

The UniversityThe University of Kansas is a major educational and research institution with30,000 students and 2,300 faculty members.The university includes themain campus in Lawrence, the MedicalCenter in Kansas City, the KU EdwardsCampus in Overland Park, a clinical campus of the School of Medicine in Wichita, and educational and research facilities throughout the state. KU has 13 major academic divisions: the Collegeof Liberal Arts and Sciences and theSchools of Allied Health,Architecture and Urban Planning, Business, Education,Engineering, Fine Arts, Journalism andMass Communications, Law, Medicine,Nursing, Pharmacy, and Social Welfare.Visit KU’s Web site, www.ku.edu.

Produced by the KU Office of University Relations, 2008.

GRADUATE RESEARCH IN BIOANALYTICAL CHEMISTRYThe University of Kansas

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